Wheel-tire.



No. 855,468. PATBNTBD JUNE 4, 1905.]

T MIDGLBY .WHEEL TIRE. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 6l 1905.

@vivid/mwen l @ad/0%? U Nrrnn sTAfpns PATENT onirica.

THOMAS MIDGLEY, oF-HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

-WHEEL-Tung.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1907.

Application filed October 6,1905. Serial No. 281,573.

To aZ w21/07115 t may concern:

Be it known thatl, THOMAS MIDGLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Hartford, county of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have .invented new and useful Improvements in Wheel-Tires, of

which the following is a specification.-

This invention relates to -tires for vehicle wheels, and mbre particularly to solid tires of resilient material, such as rubber7 the principal object of the invention being to provide a tire of this description which is characterized by a tread surface adapted to obtain a.better holdvv upon pavements and roadbeds than is f possible with a tire presentinga tread surd face composed wholly of rubber.

Stated in general terms, the invention consists in the provision in the tread of a rubber tire of the solid or cushion type, of a plurality of pieces of metal which are normally -ilush with the surface of the tire and are so mounted in the tire that they will not lessen its resihencyor its durability. In the accompanyingdrawing forming part o f this specification, I have illustrated a solid 't1re which 1s provided with studs. of steel or lron set in the rubber of the tire adjacent to the tread and having the outer ends thereof flush with the tread surface.

Referring to the drawing by the reference characters, 'F designates the felly of the wheel at the sides of which are secured side flanges l of metal, and on the peripheryA of .which is shrunk or other wise secured a metal band 2.- The side flanges 1 are held in )lace by transverse bolts 3 'extending throug the fabric. d tion are we ll known in the art and form no side flanges and the felly. In the channel presented between the outer portions of' the side flanges 1, the tire T is held. This tire may be secured in place in any suitable man- Y consist referably of an outer portion 7 ofrelativ y-small diameter `and an inner or base portionA 8 of larger diameter, a shoulder 9 being presented at the outer end of thelbase portion which 'serves to preventpthe extruthe base of the tire.

which is due to the -studs.

sion ofthestud beyond-the tread surface of the tire. Each stud is mountedupon a coil spring 10 which is embedded in the rubber of the tire and .extends almost, if not .quite, to Each stud is connected 6o with the corresponding spring by simply cutting a groove spirally in the outer surface 1 of the inner or base portiongof the stud so that the vbase ofthe stud forms a short screw which vmay be screwed into the outer end of the spring. This screw connection between r the studs and the supporting springs vpermits a certain amount of adjustment of the;

studs relative to the supporting springs, as

will be obvious. When the tire constructed as above de-v scribed is in use, a composite surface of rubber and metal is presented for contact with the surface of the roadway and, if the roadbed becoated with mud or vother soft. material, the rubber will be compressed slightly around theI outer portions f the studs which will be protruded to a slight extent and will bite into the soft coating on the roadway.

The amount of protrusion of the studs will 8O always be small, as the portion of the tire under the weight of the'vehicle will, of course, be accompanied by compression of the sprin s upon which the studs are mounted and t ere will be substantially no movement of the stud as an entirety relative to the body of the tire. On hard and smooth roadbeds, such as asphalt and stone pavements, there will be no protrusion of the studs beyond the treadsurface of the tire, but the tendency of the tire to sli on the surface will be diminished somew at by the increased friction This increase of friction is particularly noticeable when the roadway is wet and ne tendency of the rub-l ber to slip is much greater than it is on a dry il f surface.

A special feature of the invention is the -thoroughly yieldable support afforded for Ieach stud by the coil spring in which it is 10 mounted. As these springs are not onl lsusceptible of compression but. of lateral 'stortion, any movement imparted to the tread of the tire will be communicated to the studs and there will be no tendency of the studs to 1O5 distend and enlarge the cavities in which they are seated, as would be the case if the rstuds were rigidly secured in osition.

While i have described an' lshown a solid tire only in this specification, it will be obvino manner and it yous that studs of the character illustrated may be embedded in cushion tires in llike number and position of the studs may be varied at Will Without of the inventionf Having thus described my inve'igition,v what I claim as new and desire toseeureby Letters Patent is: -v

1. A solid tire of elastic or resilient mata?v embedded in the material of the tire and eX- from the base of the tire`toward 4the rial provided at the tread with a plurality of studs of harder material than the bodyT of the tire set in the material of which the' tire is formed and mounted on yielding supporting members extendin toward the base of the tire and embedded in the resilient material of the tire. v

2. A tire 'o'lelastic zo the material of which the tire is composed will also be clear that the.

departing fromA the spiritj 'for resilient n iat'e'rial` provided at its tread surface with studs set in Ward -the base of the ttire.

having studs set in the material of which the tire is com osed -and having their outer ends Isubstantie llush with the treacl'surface of the' tire sai studs bein supports yieldable in al directions;

4J A solid tire of elastic or resilient materialprovided with a plurality of'coiled springs -tendin tread t ereof.

In testimonyv whereof, I have signedumy. name. 1n the presence 'of tWo Witnesses.

THOMAS MIDGLEY. litnesses: i

J. Bossen, F, DBATHBUN.

and mounted on coilvsprings extendingt0` 3. A tire of elastic or resilient material,

mounted on metallic 

